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Most of the NCHS students and staff were able to listen to the speech by Mike Smith on September 17, 2018. Students and staff had many different opinions about Mike Smith. A few students who attended his speech in the John F. Welsh auditorium shared their thoughts and opinions on his speech and Mike Smith himself.

One student said, “I really liked him, and thought he could relate to teenagers better than the ordinary adult. I also think he has come from a place where a lot of teenagers are coming from. He worked for what he has, and he wasn’t handed his success,”said Lauren Degaugh. Not only has Smith worked for what he has, but he continues to work to give back to the community. Smith is involved with many non-profit programs such as The Bay, a non-profit skatepark, and Skate For a Change, an organization that encourages skate boarders to give back to their communities by donating items such as socks to local homeless people. Mike Smith is also the co-founder of Find Your Grind, a foundation created to help teenagers find a career that incorporates not only their talents, but their passions as well.

Smith’s mission is simple: to expose, enlighten, and educate students and teachers to the possibilities of tomorrow. Smith’s hard work has not gone unnoticed. Smith has been featured by multinational companies and organizations like YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), SpecialOlympics, Red Bull, and State Farm.

Smith is partnered up with brands that he believes can change businesses across the country.

Another freshman said, “I thought he was pretty cool, pretty true with his words especially when he said there are three types of people: the doers, talkers, and wishers.” An influential part of the speech was when Smith told all the students in the audience to take out their cell phones and find how long they have spent on social media in the last week. The point of doing so was to determine which of the three types of people they are. Mike Smith is a doer, he talks about what he’s gonna do and he does it instead of wishing for it.

After Smith’s speech severalNCHS staff and students from Journalism and NCTV got the chance to interview and speak with Smith in person. During this meeting he further advocated the idea that it is important for young people entering the workforce to choose a career based on their talents and passions, not the salary. Smith used the example of how many people want to travel the world, but are putting it off until after they earn enough money from their day job or some other excuse. Smith then questioned, “If someone’s dream is to travel, then why don’t they get a job travelling?”

One teacher present, Ms. Gray, asked for advice for her daughter who is unsure of where to go with her life. Smith then asked for a piece of paper and a pencil and began to map out how to choose a career. Smith advised Gray to have her daughter make lists of her passions, talents, and a list of things she doesn’t want in her life and to choose a career that incorporates as much of her passions and talents as possible and limits the thing she doesn’t like.

According to Smith, one of the main reasons people are unhappy in their lives is because they are putting off doing what makes them happy. It may seem like an obvious explanation, but many people still continue to put money and security above their own happiness. If Smith speaking at NC imparted anything on the students it would definitely be not to let this happen in their lives.